Words of the Master (Part 1) — Spiritual Medicine Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: Words of the Master (Part 1) — Spiritual Medicine ----------------------- Date: 8/27/1999 Keywords: "doctor" "healthy" "mercy" "righteous" "sick" "sinner" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Matthew 9:10-13* 10. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" 12. On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Questions 1. Are you one of those people who tends to run off to the doctor at the first cough or sneeze, or are you (like me) more likely to wait until you're spitting up blood?   2. What did Jesus detect in the hearts of the Pharisees that kept them from finding healing?   3. How do you perceive your struggle with pornography — as a battle you're continually fighting, or as a debilitating affliction that needs hospital care?   Practical help A debate rages among psychological circles, both Christian and secular, about whether addictions are a disease or a chosen behavior. Are the controlling factors within the afflicted person's sphere of influence or not? Are you to blame, or is it a genetic predisposition? Are you a sinner or a victim? Jesus' words defuse this debate to say, in essence, don't waste too much time on that question. Addiction to pornography, like other compulsive behavior, is sin, and sin is a disease. But, it's a disease of the heart, for which the cure isn't hard work or penance, but Jesus himself. As you fight the urges to spin the dial over to that familiar site, try to imagine yourself as a patient in the hospital, suffering from asthma, and about to convulse into another coughing fit. You've got the call button in your hand, and the nurse can bring you a breath of medicine that will soothe the urge and calm you down. But no, you're going to fight this one back and fend it off by your will power. Or can you? Why try to do it on your own? Go ahead, push the button, call on Jesus who is the great physician. Let him hear your cry. He said he is there for you. He's not spending his time with all those "healthy" people who don't need him. He's on call, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Throw yourself on his mercy, and don't let your pride get in the way of repentance. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 1999 by eXXit *Scriptures are from The Holy Bible: New International Version © Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved.